Full Product Details
Author: Lance Grande
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Imprint: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231212304
ISBN 10: 0231212305
Pages: 688
Publication Date: 13 February 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
The Evolution of Religion classifies virtually all known organized religions, past and present, into phylogenetic trees based on their shared characteristics and evolution. Grande provides an evolutionary framework so that lay readers can better understand the similarities of religions and thereby hopefully become more tolerant of religions other than their own. -- E. Fuller Torrey, author of <i>Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods: Early Humans and the Origins of Religion</i>
An innovative, in-depth analysis—a renowned biologist applies a novel evolutionary conceptual lens to the diversity and history of human religion. The findings and implications are destined to provoke productive introspection and discussion. -- Gary M. Feinman, MacArthur Curator of Anthropology, Field Museum of Natural History The Evolution of Religions classifies virtually all known organized religions, past and present, into phylogenetic trees based on their shared characteristics and evolution. Grande provides an evolutionary framework so that lay readers can better understand the similarities of religions and thereby hopefully become more tolerant of religions other than their own. -- E. Fuller Torrey, author of <i>Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods: Early Humans and the Origins of Religion</i>
Comparative religion books are often written by religious scholars or historians. But this one has a twist: It’s written by a scientist—an evolutionary biologist and systematist to be exact. There’s beauty in having a scientist write such a book. Evolution of Religions is a big book, but it’s written in such a methodical way that you’ll understand the broad concepts behind many organized religions around the world. * Genealogy Ink * Religion goes to the very heart of human cultural experience. Its oldest texts reveal what we were thinking about who we are, how we came to be, and how we fit into the world. In this well-written book, Lance Grande casts a dispassionate eye on the basic tenets of known religions—at once a good read and a valuable reference source. -- Niles Eldredge, author of <i>Eternal Ephemera: Adaptation and the Origin of Species from the Nineteenth Century Through Punctuated Equilibria and Beyond</i> An innovative, in-depth analysis—a renowned biologist applies a novel evolutionary conceptual lens to the diversity and history of human religion. The findings and implications are destined to provoke productive introspection and discussion. -- Gary M. Feinman, MacArthur Curator of Anthropology, Field Museum of Natural History Grande, a noted paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, brings his analytical framework to the study of world religions. He offers an evolutionary history of religious traditions and cooperative norms from around the world. This fascinating approach is both provocative and illuminating, providing a very readable and important book. -- Charles Stanish, author of <i>The Evolution of Human Co-operation: Ritual and Social Complexity in Stateless Societies</i> The Evolution of Religions classifies virtually all known organized religions, past and present, into phylogenetic trees based on their shared characteristics and evolution. Grande provides an evolutionary framework so that lay readers can better understand the similarities of religions and thereby hopefully become more tolerant of religions other than their own. -- E. Fuller Torrey, author of <i>Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods: Early Humans and the Origins of Religion</i>
Author Information
Lance Grande is the Negaunee Distinguished Service Curator, Emeritus, of the Field Museum of Natural and Cultural History in Chicago. He is a specialist in evolutionary systematics, paleontology, and biology who has a deep interest in the interdisciplinary applications of scientific method and philosophy. His many books include Curators: Behind the Scenes of Natural History Museums (2017) and The Lost World of Fossil Lake: Snapshots from Deep Time (2013).
